Has the advent of shared digital images increased the demand for "photogenic" coins?

Baley

It seems the boom in "monster toners", "modern perfection", and "original skin" has coincided with the widespread use of digital photography to share images of the coins online.

Has the ability to show other people how beautiful certain coins can look like when "lit and tilted right" driven the demand for such pieces, and consequently their prices?

When shopping for a coin, does your purchasing decision take into account what pictures of the coin might look like when "shown around"?

Folks have always paid higher prices for prettier coins, but is it even more true in these days?

ms70

I think it has quickly become the "expected" for online sales. Especially since the equipment has dropped in price and now there's plenty of used digital cameras to go around.
The only issue is the abilities of the picture taker- As time goes on I think peoples ability to take better pics will generally improve while the equipment continues to improve at
the same time.

RYK

Most definitely. Let's face it though, nice coins tend to photograph nice, and cleaned, dipped out, marked up, and otherwise low eye appeal coins do not. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken feces.

In a recent blog, Doug Winter even acknowledged that while he does not advocate buying coins on the sole basis of images, when he selects coins for inventory, he tries to buy those that will photograph and present well on the website. Fortunately, these tend to be the ones with original skin and coloring.

mgoodm3

Nice coins photograph well. Good photography does tend to amplify problems. I will tend to buy coins that have less problems because of it.

Longacre

The picture is the first thing that I consider when deciding to buy. I've dismissed more coins because of a bad picture than purchased.